Wednesday, May 25, 2016

BSI noose tightening already?

Lim Kit Siang's posting on the latest development on BSI was about noose tightening. It is not any noose but global noose involving the 1MDB scandal.

Since some commentator desperately wanted our take on the latest development on BSI Singapore, here is a quickie. In half hour got to rush for treatment in Taman Maluri. Want to stick to the plan to write today on the two upcoming by-elections.

Back to Kit Siang's posting.

According to the posting here, there are three developments happening that will hang Dato Najib and the government.

There have been so many developments on 1MDB or SRC or related to 1MDB but at times not directly but it is still does no affirm anything substantive. Only bad management or administration.

If one goes through the process of elimination on the possibilities, it's hard to accept that Najib pulled the trigger and gun is still smoking. What ever argument presented is merely politically motivated. Does not stand the legal test.

It's needs a lengthy explanation to convince but why bother. The three developments according to Kit Siang's webmaster are:

• The withdrawal of the BSI Bank’s status as a merchant bank in the
city state by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for “serious breaches
of anti-money laundering requirements, poor management oversight of the
bank’s operations and gross misconduct by some of the bank’s staff” and
the reference of six members of the BSI Bank’s senior management and
staff to the public prosecutor – after investigations into the 1MDB
scandal in Singapore.

• Commencement of criminal proceedings by Switzerland’s Office of the
Attorney General (OAG) against BSI SA Bank for allegedly failing to
prevent offences linked to 1MDB, including offences of money laundering
and bribery of foreign public officials. Swiss authorities believe at
least RM4 billion in Malaysian state fund had been misappropriated as
part of their investigations into 1MDB scandal.

• Resignation with immediate effect of Swiss Bank BSI’s Group CEO
Stefano Coduri following the announcement by the Money Authority of
Singapore on the closure of its Singapore branch and criminal
proceedings by the Swiss OAG in connection with their 1MDB
investigations.

The closing up of BSI in Singapore is serious. According to Bloomberg report found on The Edge website here, it is linked to 1MDB:

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it is withdrawing BSI
Bank Ltd’s licence for breaches of money laundering rules as the Swiss
attorney general said he is taking legal action based on information
from criminal probes into 1Malaysia Development Bhd, or 1MDB. EFG
International AG is proceeding with the purchase of BSI from Brazil’s
Grupo BTG Pactual SA at an undisclosed reduced price.

The actions are part of the global money laundering and embezzlement investigations surrounding 1MDB ....

The last sentence puts it as surrounding 1MDB.

Thus far many other foreign investigations including the ones Dato Khairuddin and Matthias did only photo op in front of various foreign enforcement agencies, are investigating issues outside 1MDB but related to 1MDB..

Hmmm ... will that pull the noose on Najib?

Never mind we are patient enough to wait. And we can analyse the information below received on our Whatss App:

Keeping a record of he two persons currently charged with various offences related to BSI and 1MDB relationship.

Person One: Yeo Jiawei (ex BSI Bank) with 9 charges to date.

1st
Charge (April 22): Buying a property using illegally acquired funds
where he received SGD200k in a Bank of China account which represented
“benefits from cheating.”.

2nd
Charge (April 28): Cheating BSI by concealing that he would receive
some US$1.6 million per year. This sum, according to the charge sheet,
was a portion of the annual management fee paid by 1MDB's wholly owned
Brazen Sky Ltd to Bridge Partners Investment Management (Cayman) Ltd.

3rd
Charge (April 28): Attempting to pervert the course of justice by
asking a Mr Goh Sze-Wei Samuel to say the USD1.6m money was his
investment.

4th
Charge (May 5): Cheating BSI by hiding the fact that he would receive a
portion of the fees paid to Pacific Harbor Holdings via Bridgerock
Investment, a company that Yeo owns.

5th
Charge (May 5): Preventing the course of justice intentionally by
asking Kevin Swampillai to lie to the police about a sum of money which
had been transferred by Samuel Goh Sze-Wei to Bridgerock Investment Inc
and GTB Investment.

6th
Charge (May 5): transferring $500,000 from a Malayan Banking Berhad
account in the name of Bridgerock Investment Inc to an Oversea-Chinese
Banking Corporation (OCBC) account. The court documents have declared
that this amount "represents his benefits from criminal conduct".

7th
Charge (May 12 ): forgery by fraudulently signing a reference letter to
the EMEA head of anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance of
Citigroup to dupe them into thinking the letter was signed by the
authority of BSI Bank to facilitate a transfer of US$11.95 million
(S$16.3 million) from SRC International (Malaysia) to Affinity Equity
International Partners.

8th Charge (May 24): Cheating BSI by concealing a portion of the fees he received from Pacific Harbor Holdings (PHH)

9th Charge (May 24): Cheating BSI by concealing a portion of the fees he received from Devonshire Capital Management (DCM).

--

Person two: Kelvin Ang from NRA Capital with 1 charge:

1st
Charge (Apr 20) for corruptly giving a gratification sum of S$3,000
some time between 2013 and 2014 to research analyst Lee Chee Waiy to
expedite preparation of a favourable valuation report to be issued by
his equity research firm.

---

Separately,
the Singapore branch of BSI was asked to shut down due to multiple and
repeated breaches - totaling 41 counts over the year.

A MAS audit in 2011 found policy and process lapses and weak enforcement of control functions.

A
2014 MAS Audit also found serious shortcomings in its due diligence
checks on assets underlying the investment funds structured for its
customers.

While a 2015 audit found multiple breaches of anti-money laundering regulations and pervasive pattern of non-compliance.

So
far, none of the charges - whether here or in Switzerland are direct to
1MDB officials which is why 1MDB said today they have not been
contacted by any investigators from Singapore and Switzerland.

Switzerland
has also been investigating a former 1MDB official (which does not seem
to be related to any high level persons in 1MDB past or present), two
former officials of Abu Dhabi Govt and the BSI bank officials for
non-compliance.

Maybe it is useful as information from the other side of the coin which is not politically sensationalise.

Every other foreign media report loves to put the phrase "linked to 1MDB" even though it does not involve 1MDB but something happening outside 1MDB and still not established it involves management or leadership of 1MDB.

OK we got to go.

Off course, expect the issue of 1MDB's Brazen Sky account at BSI be raised. It is the fund unit meant for the IPIC debt for asset swap that BNM insisted it be returned to Malaysia but resisted by 1MDB to the point of willing to pay administrative penalty.

Those following are already assuming there is a fraud involving payment to the presumably fake IPIC BVI subsidiary account. And, the swap deal will not happen.

That's what we said, do the process of elimination first before presuming anything.

8 comments:

Nazir Razak is a money launderer
said...

Nazir Razak is a money launderer!

Dont forget money laundering by Najib and his brother Nazir of 28 million.BNM should get cracking even though all the monney has gone.Receiving money from unknown sources and disbursing it to unknown people is money laundering.Nazir have admitted to it and plead regret.This is a mitigating factor but the fact is that the CIMB chairman have laundered moneythrough his personal account.He is not fit be Khazanah Director, involved in malaysian banks management.

Just bear in mind, if Singapore financial authority themselves did not attempt to link any misconduct from 1MDB, who is Sarawak Report to assume that?

Sarawak Report has repeatedly make erroneous and flawed statements when they teamed-up with Dr Mahathir and his anti-Najib team intentions are mere malicious to politicise any link to 1MDB even without hard evidences but just assumptions and allegations.

1MDB is now being eclipsed by The Panama Paper scandal and a global financial meltdown is expected throughout.Notwithstanding BSI closure ,Swiss Authority findings and Singapore Authority, the Panama scandal will torment the entire global financial institutions and nothing can stop.